


From Grief Let A Garden Grow

by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink)



Series: Short and Sweet (Fics of About 1000 Words or Less) [12]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Character Study, Characters As Flowers, Gen, I Want To Go Drink Tea In A Garden Now, Spoilers for Campaign 2 Episode 28, Symbolism, bittersweet perhaps, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 09:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15457857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_in_ink/pseuds/Angel%20Ascending
Summary: Caduceus helped the others carry Molly’s body into the waiting cart and listened to Jester cast the spell that would halt the natural processes of decay, smiled encouragingly at her even as her voice shook, handed her the copper pieces to place over Molly’s eyes, the life gone from them but still vigilant and defiant somehow, even in death. Caduceus closed his own eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he saw the group before him, not just as people, but as a garden as vibrant and bright as the plants that grew on the graves he had once tended.





	From Grief Let A Garden Grow

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long week and I needed to write something that was not crushingly sad. How about bittersweet and soft?

Caduceus Clay stood back as Caleb summoned a giant earthen cats paw to dig up the fallen comrade whom they had planted in the ground several days before. It was an interesting sight to be sure, but Caduceus found his eyes wandering to the coat hanging from a stout branch, a colorful grave marker made especially bright by the fresh dusting of snow that covered the ground. He felt that he probably would have gotten along very well with the person who had worn that coat, and he wondered if he’d ever get the chance to speak to the person the others referred to as Molly. Resurrection magics were tricky. Calling a soul back into a body could be almost as difficult as transplanting roses, or so he’d been taught, and even with the best of intentions and the most powerful of magics the soul might just refuse to take root in the soil it had once called home.

It had been an interesting few days for Caduceus, full of meeting new people and turning other people into mulch, which at least put their lives and deaths to better use than they would have otherwise. There had been reunions full lot of hugging and crying, which Caduceus had observed with a quiet smile, slightly removed, not interfering with either the other’s joy or their grief. There had been revenge and reward, both of which had lead the Mighty Nein (a curious name to be sure) to this spot on the side of the road. The only reward they had wanted was a chance to resurrect their fallen friend, and that request had been granted, though they had to bring the body to the cleric instead of the other way around. Caduceus had gone with them, trusting the care of his temple to Nila and others of her tribe.

As Caduceus watched, the tall, pale, barbarian woman, Yasha, and the blue tiefling, Jester, reached into the hole in the ground and drew out their friend. Molly had not been in the ground long, and the cold weather had been kind to the body as it could be. The tiefling’s skin was a pale lavender, his eyes the red of blood on rose thorns. Molly had gone into death unafraid, with his eyes open, and Caduceus had to give a respectful nod at that. 

Caduceus helped the others carry Molly’s body into the waiting cart and listened to Jester cast the spell that would halt the natural processes of decay, smiled encouragingly at her even as her voice shook, handed her the copper pieces to place over Molly’s eyes, the life gone from them but still vigilant and defiant somehow, even in death. Caduceus closed his own eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he saw the group before him, not just as people, but as a garden as vibrant and bright as the plants that grew on the graves he had once tended. Nott leaned against Caleb, purple heliotrope against bright hollyhock. Fjord placed a hand on Jester’s shoulder, white heather comforting blue delphinium. Beau reached out and threaded her fingers through Yasha’s, light pink and blue roses intertwining. In the middle was Molly, a riot of color, not just lavender and forget-me-nots but snapdragons in shades of bright blue and pink and purple. Surrounding everyone were ivy and marigolds, rosemary and rue mixing with snowdrops.

Caduceus sat apart, separate from the others for now, cherry blossoms drifting around him like snowfall. His reasons for wanting to leave the temple he had called home were as convoluted as a bittersweet vine climbing up a pine tree. For everything there was a season. His old garden would stay right where he left it, though it would change. A plant in a pot too small for it would stop growing. Sometimes you just needed to spread your roots, and take a walk through someone else’s garden.

Caduceus looked around at the group and wondered if they knew just how much their roots and stems twined around each other, and thought about what other flowers might spring up from their shared grief. Maybe there would be room for a cherry tree in this new garden, and for a gardener who was content to let things grow as they would, and to sip tea in the shade.

**Author's Note:**

> I got all my flower meanings from Wikipedia, so apologies if this isn't accurate.
> 
> Heliotrope (Nott): Devotion
> 
> Hollyhock (Caleb): Ambition
> 
> White Heather (Fjord): Protection
> 
> Delphinium (Jester): Levity, Joy
> 
> Light Pink Rose (Beau): Desire, Youth, Energy
> 
> Blue Rose (Yasha): Mystery
> 
> Lavender, Forget Me Nots, Snapdragons (Molly, who is so extra he gets extra flowers): Devotion, Don't Forget Me, Inner Strength
> 
> Ivy, Marigolds, Rosemary, Rue, Snowdrops (Background Plants): Dependence, Grief, Remembrance, Regret, Hope.
> 
> Cherry Blossoms (Caduceus): Gentleness, Kindness, Transience of Life


End file.
